Posts Tagged ‘Hair Rules’

ABS Chicago: Day Two

More From ABS 2011

Our feet hurt and our heads are full of inspiration and new ideas to bring into our business. You could say that ABS Chicago 2011 was a success. Not only did we fall in love with the platform artists at Farouk’s stage, but we found new and exciting companies that are going to be on our radar this year.

Yesterday was an amazing day, jam-packed full of floor time, the NaturallyCurly & Modern Salon Texture! panel, and spending some quality time with brands like Schedulicity. We are inspired by this company that understands what a stylist needs as far as an online booking system, and wants to give you the information and tools to keep clients happy. We will be sharing more on this new online booking company very soon!

The Texture! panel was a huge success, drawing a full crowd of curl stylists from across the country. We were so happy to have Hair Rules, Ouidad, Mizani, Deva, GK Hair, and American Crew there to share their knowledge and host demo’s to give a little education to our stylist community. It was definitely an educational day, allowing stylists to ask some of their own texture questions and learn more about the different styles and methods of cutting and styling curly hair.

We are so lucky to be able to participate in ABS Chicago and always walk away with more knowledge, inspiration, and new friends each year!

Get Acquainted With Texture At ABS Chicago

America’s Beauty Show

America’s Beauty Show will play host to the NaturallyCurly, CurlStylist & Modern Salon Texture! panel for the second year in a row, which will showcase the most influential curl experts in the world. We won’t lie—we almost can’t contain ourselves.

The high-power panel will include brands such as Hair Rules, Ouidad, Deva, Mizani and GK Hair. This group of experts will also be hosting a demo where they style curls for you to see. American Crew will also join the demo, showing us all how to care for our curly male clients’ curls.

This panel is comprised of the hottest names in curls, who will be speaking about how to make your business profitable in the curly niche market, the evolution of keratin treatments and smoothing systems and the latest cutting and styling techniques—just to name a few. The panelists will also be available to answer any questions you may have about your own curly business.

Make sure to check out the Texture! panel at America’s Beauty Show in Chicago on Sunday, March 14, at 1:00 p.m.

Get Your Clients’ Locks Fall Fashion Ready!

Time to transition to fall. Follow these tips to get your clients’ locks ready for the fall fashion season!

As the heat starts to fad and cool nights begin to increase we all start to think about how to prepare for fall. With the changing of the seasons often comes the changing of our clients’ hair colors. Veteran stylist Anna Craig of Trashy Roots Salon & Spa, has six tips to help your clients transition to the perfect fall look. Craig, Pravana Artistic Educator and DevaCurl Specialist, has more nine years of experience, and is extremely passionate about colors. She ensures if you follow her steps, your clients will be fall-ready in no time!

3 steps to getting your client’s hair ready for fall color change

1. Deep Condition: Tell your clients to use a great deep conditioner a week prior to their dye appointment. You want to make sure their hair is strong and healthy. Make sure to tell them to do this around a week out—too close to their appointment will prohibit the color from fully penetrating.

2. Clarify: Talk to clients about clarifying. Ask them to clarify their hair to remove build up at least three days prior to their appointment. This will remove any access build up before their hair gets its new fall look.

3. Hydrate: Inform them to use a hydrating conditioner for one week prior to their appointment including after their clarifying treatment. Hydrating conditioners are a great wavy to lock in your clients moisture without coating the hair too thick to prevent color penetration.

3 Steps Color Change for Fall

Transitioning your clients’ summer locks to fall is a slow and steady process that allows you to have control and create a gradual transformation that is completed correctly.

1. Add depth! Slowly start to add depth back into the client’s hair via lowlights. Just an initial shading. You don’t want to go too dark at first.

2. 5 weeks later add more depth by weaving in more dark pieces

3. 7 weeks later add additional depth. Majority of the time this will be the final step of the fall color transformation however, it may take additional time if you want you change to be even more gradual.

Texture: The Season of Texture!

By all appearances, fall 2010 will go down in fashion history as “the season of texture.” Dozens of notable fashion designers have eschewed straight strands, embracing instead all manner of curls, coils, crimps, waves and teased clouds of hair on their catwalks.

Miley Cyrus

On the West Coast, style setters are also advancing the texture trend. Nearly every red carpet is adorned with sexy, romantic textures, made popular by stars like Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Kate Hudson, Charlize Theron and Beyonce.

And regardless of whether clients are starting out with natural curl, wave or pin-straight strands, everyone has texture options this season!

Natural Curl: Embrace and Refine

“Curly hair is coming into its own,” says Titi Branch, co-owner of Miss Jessie’s Products and Salon in New York. “Twenty years ago, we wouldn’t even be talking about curly hair because people straightened their curls.

Michelle Obama

“Now, women want to embrace their natural, healthy curl. Michelle Obama even wore curls to a state dinner recently— for her to do so really validates the beauty of the look.”

But curly can also be high maintenance, admits Branch, which is why the current trend is a smoother, looser curl pattern.

“This allows a woman to keep her curl,” she explains, “but refine it.” At Miss Jessie’s, this elongated curl is achieved with the salon’s proprietary “Silkener” service. The technique involves a sodium hydroxide relaxer and a method of manipulation that stretches, yet doesn’t straighten, the hair.

Curl definition is also imperative for Shawna Parvin’s curly clients, and the most modern approach, says the Aquage educator, NAHA 2009 Texture Winner and 2010 Hairstylist of the Year nominee, is to mix it up—random curl sizes, directions and even amounts of definition. “I’m telling my clients to start with a gel on damp hair,” she says, and comb it through scalp to ends. “Then wind sections of varying sizes, in every direction, so they look like little snakes. Don’t touch the hair until it’s completely dry, then move it around and even pull a few random pieces apart so there’s some fuzz mixed in with the curl. That’s what keeps curl from looking like the ’80s.”

Options are important for women with any texture, and naturally curly clients will always want blowouts for occasions when their hair must look polished, says Dickey, owner of New York’s Hair Rules Salon and hair products company. What makes blowouts look fresh this season, he says, is a voluminous, soft, Mad Men-inspired look, with lots of flattering movement around the face.

“Bone straight doesn’t work for most women,” he comments. “Waves and curls look softer on anyone—it’s ‘instant youth.’”

Making Waves—Keep it Raw

When it comes to creating curls and waves, the perfectly formed curls are evolving into a rougher, more raw-edged texture, says Chad Seale of Salt Lake City, another 2010 NAHA Texture finalist.

“Waves will be more vertical, looser, less constructed than we’ve seen in past seasons,” agrees Darby Shields, Associate Artistic Director of ISO International.

When it comes to these vertical waves, there’s also a new silhouette worth noting, adds Seale, namely, a flatter crown with more volume through the midlengths and ends. Seale loves this texture and shape on shorter-length bobs—actress Charlize Theron has been seen sporting the look. To permanently create this casual texture on tightly curly hair, Shields steers clients to the ISO Maintamer.

“This formula gives stylists plenty of control,” she explains. “Leave it on for five minutes, and it eliminates frizz but maintains the curl pattern. Leave it on for 30 minutes and it straightens more completely.”

To produce loose, ropey, “Gisele” texture with a thermal iron, Shields first mists strands with a combination of ISO Color Preserve Thermal Shield Spray and Daily Shape Working Spray, then wraps sections of hair vertically around the outside of a curling iron, simultaneously twisting each section onto itself like a rope. Once the hair cools completely, she gently releases the twists, revealing “a spiral, vertical wave with lots of internal torque.”

The flat iron is another excellent tool for creating this type of natural-looking body and texture. Many of today’s irons feature beveled plates, which give them the versatility to straighten and shape hair. One of Lina Shamoun’s favorite strategies is to divide hair into thin, one-inch sections, place the flatiron at the root, wind the section once around the iron and draw the tool through to the ends.

“When you release it, the hair will fall into a soft, flowing wave,” she explains.

The beach trend—textured, separated, sea-tossed strands—has generated a number of beach spray products that are great for supporting these looks or for use as stand-alone body boosters.

Color for Curl

With celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston leading the way, the hottest hair color trend of the moment is the graduated “I spent last month on the beach and now it’s growing out” effect. Characterized by deeper roots and lighter midshafts and ends, it’s a deliberate technique to approximate “vacation regrowth.” The look is perfect for the twists and turns of textured hair, as long as the technique is done correctly.

Seale believes baliage is the best strategy—this freehand hair-painting method allows the colorist to place the tint exactly where the sun would kiss each strand, namely, on the rounds and fullest parts of each curl and in an unstructured fashion.

“So if your client wears her hair curly,” Seale advises, “don’t blow her hair straight and do a color weave. You’ll get six different colors on one curl and that doesn’t work.”

Additionally, says Seale, opt for high-lift permanent colors when baliaging curls, rather than bleach. “Bleach tends to swell the hair and cause it to become dryer,” he believes.

This hair type is already susceptible to dryness, he adds, so it’s better to use hair color that tends to impart less damage. Shields agrees that baliage is the best way to achieve the dark-to-light look, and advises stylists to work with fairly large sections. “Apply your color to each section randomly,” she suggests. “And for your application pattern, let the trajectory of the waves guide you—dropping off of the crown. Try some ‘peek-a-boo’ foils under the surface, too.

“All of this will create a purposeful, grown-out look, which clients today love since it’s chic and it allows them to stretch their retouching dollars!”

Come Celebrate Texture! With the Leaders and Innovators of the Category

Follow CurlStylist on Twitter and Become a Fan on Facebook for special updates on ABS.

CurlStylist, NaturallyCurly and Modern Salon are teaming up to produce one of the hottest programming events at ABS!

America’s Beauty Show is one of the world’s premiere events for stylists, taking place March 27-29 at McCormick Place in Chicago. And the Texture! panel is already generating a lot of buzz and promises to be a sellout.

Exclusive Research Findings!
Find out what your clients and peers think about textured hair services, styling treatments and products in a special presentation of research commissioned by MODERN SALON Media and NaturallyCurly.com.

Special Texture! PresentationsCURLSOuidadMizaniKMS

Texture Tools and Goodies
Special samples, education materials and handouts available first come, first served.

Prizes

CurlStylist will be giving away over $1,500 in prizes at the Texture Panel! Don’t miss out on these great prizes.

All you have to do is drop your business card or fill out a form to WIN 1 of 10 PRIZES! Must be present to win. Only one prize per person.

Celebrity Stylist Opens Multi-Textural Salon

This week, Anthony Dickey is opening a new salon where all hair textures can co-exist under one roof.

Hair Rules New York, with its elite team of stylists and colorists, is located at 828 Ninth Avenue, between 54th and 55th streets in the diverse Clinto neighborhood.

“From the first day of cosmetology school, stylists are taught to process hair without regard to natural texture,” explains celebrity stylist Dickey, creator of the Hair Rules line of products for multi-textural hair. “What that means to women with highly textured hair is that their hair is a problem that needs fixing.”

As a result, says Dickey, generations of women with wavy, curly and kinky hair have battled their hair into submission, often with damaging chemicals and heat. “The result of that is not only damaged hair, but divisive notions about what’s socially, professionally and fashionably acceptable.”

Although the majority of salons work with a broad clientele with all hair types, many stylists do not feel comfortable working with naturally kinky hair. And for many salons that do specialize in highly textured hair, the main focus may be relaxers, weaves and heat styling to change the texture rather than work with it.

“Others still promote only natural styles such as braids, locks and twists,” Dickey says.

Hair Rules co-founder supermodel Kara Young considers Hair Rules a mindset — “a new way for women who have always struggled with their natural texture to learn to embrace it and truly love it.”

Hair Rules New York will offer hair-care and styling-based approaches to working with texture. No texture will be viewed as problematic, from super kinky hair to straight hair that “won’t hold a curl” to every texture in between.

“Our goal is to undo years of despair and disappointment by helping our clients rediscover their natural texture, embrace the versatility it offers and wear it however they choose — but via healthy, responsible methods,” says Dickey, stylist to Minnie Driver, Kelis, Estelle and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The 2,160-square-foot loft space features eight cutting stations, four color stations, four drying stations and a comfortable living room where clients can unwind. The space is decorated in an eclectic mix of colors, surfaces and fabrics — what Dickey calls “a groovy, elegant, multi-textural vibe.”

Green building techniques were used in the design, including responsibly harvested bamboo, the use of wind power, non-toxic paint and energy-efficient lighting. The salon has partnered with Matter of Trust, a nonprofit organization focused on recycling hair into hair mats for cleaning up oil spills.

Beyond salon services, Hair Rules New York will conduct advanced education classes for licensed hairdressers, and will host events, including seminars and workshops, that promote beauty, community, the arts and well-being.

“Hair Rules redefines standards in hair-care and styling services, taking the healthiest approach to achievable beauty as a means toward providing women with choices as they relate to style and self expression,” Dickey says.

Textured Hair Expert Creates Hair Rules Line

When veteran hairdresser Anthony Dickey moved to New York to work in the fashion industry, textured hair was all but ignored, and myths abounded about wavy, curly and kinky hair.

“People focused on it as ‘problem hair’ rather than celebrating its unique texture,” Dickey says. “I figured I had something to say. Hairdressers hold the secret key weapon from their client, and often aren’t telling the truth about textured hair. I felt the consumer deserved to have the same type of information as the stylist.”

So five years ago, Dickey — who has worked with such curly celebs as Alicia Keys, Minnie Driver, Sarah Jessica Parker, Andie McDowell and Gloria Reuben — wrote “Hair Rules!: The Ultimate Hair-Care Guide for Women with Kinky, Curly or Wavy Hair.” The book was chock full of simple tips for all types of curly hair, covering everything from the best shampoos and conditioners to use to the safest ways to relax hair. It has sold more than 30,0000 copies and was featured on the “Today Show.”

“My mission is simple,” wrote Dickey, who has worked at such famed salons as Oribe, Louis Licari, and John Frieda.

“To advise and encourage all women with non-straight hair to strive to attain their beauty, whatever their ethnicity, and whatever their tastes. It’s more bout putting the hair-care industry in line with how to care for kinky and curly hair. You have stylists who have no idea how to work with curls so they just blow it out. Their clients never learn how to work with their natural texture.”

Now, with his new line of products — appropriately called Hair Rules — he wants to provide a set of tools to help women care for their curls and kinks.

“It’s about finding solutions for all of women as it relates to the true classification of their hair,” Dickey says. “Hair rules is a collection of products that celebrates the unique differences and similarities of textured hair with an integrated collection of ultra-hydrating cleansers, conditioners and styling aids, geared to the special needs of kinky, curly and wavy hair.”

Typically, products geared to the kinkiest of textures have been relegated to their own special section in the drugstore aisle, and can be boiled down to two types: those that chemically alter the hair and those that try to tame it with greasy or waxy ingredients. Then there are the products marketed to non-kinky curly hair that he believes often “reflect a one-dimensional approach to kinky, curly and wavy hair.” Few, he says, address the multiple textures of an ethnically diverse world.

Too often, he says, women with curly and kinky hair spend their lives experimenting with a myriad of products and concoctions to enhance their natural texture.

“This is not always an exercise in simplicity, nor are the end results always to their liking,” Dickey says. “Some have given up the fight entirely, abandoning working with their natural texture and turning to chemical or thermal manipulation out of despair rather than choice.”

The Hair Rules collection includes two cleansers: Daily Cleansing Cream Moisturizing No-Suds Shampoo, Aloe Grapefruit Clarifying Shampoo; and two conditioners, Quench Ultra Rich Conditioner and Softening Treatment and Nourishment Leave-in Conditioner. Dickey says one of the myths about conditioners is that they repair damaged hair. He says damaged hair needs to be cut. What conditioners do, he says, is detangle and soften the hair.

Styling products in the Hair Rules line are geared for three different textures. Wavy Mousse is for wavy hair, Curly Whip is for curls and Kinky Curling Cream is for kinkier textures. All textures can use Hydrating Finishing Cream, a non-greasy finishing product that infuses hair with moisture. Products, which all are paraben-free and biodegradable, range in price from $16.50 to $30.

Fragrance is an important component of Hair Rules. He says people tend to view fragrance differently, with some people gravitating toward fruity scents while others favor floral scents. He says the products have different scents, with the fragrance getting lighter as the products get lighter. For example, the Kinky Curling Cream has a honey citrus scent, while the Wavy Mousse has a light, jasmine fragrance.

Dickey has been honing the Hair Rules line for several years, focusing on what clients really want for their hair — “not what my ideal for a line was.” He tested the products on hundreds of clients. What was missing, he says, was an easy way to determine a regimen for your particular hair type.

“We’ve tried our best to develop Hair Rules as it relates to the consumer,” Dickey says. “It’s really about listening. There’s no better focus group around than having your clientele tell you what works and what doesn’t work — whether it be about performance or fragrance.”

While testing the products on his clients, he had to tweak his original ideas. For example he wanted to create a glaze for wavies, but found out they preferred a mousse because it would adhere to fine hair well without weighing it down.

“You have to take yourself out of the equation of what you like,” Dickey says.

Like his book, Dickey says his inspiration for his product comes from his desire to help women learn to love their natural texture.

“I always believed that helping women love their hair the way it was meant to be was an essential first step toward getting them to love themselves just the way they are,” Dickey says.